Men’s Hockey: Terriers wrap up regular season with dominant win over UVM

Featured image by Holly Gustavsen

By Alexa Podalsky

Powered by three points apiece for the Hutson brothers, the Terriers ended the regular season with a bang at Gutterson Fieldhouse.

Boston University Men’s Hockey (20-12-2, 14-8-2 HE) dominated the Vermont Catamounts (11-20-3, 6-16-2 HE) in a 6-1 win just two days after defeating Providence in a similar fashion. Saturday’s win marks the third time BU has won by five or more goals this season.

“[It’s] real important for our team to be consistent when we play,” Coach Jay Pandolfo said post-game.

The Terriers dominated the ice from the first tip-off but couldn’t break through goaltender Keenan Rancier and the Vermont defense. But BU built some momentum on a two-man advantage after Jax Wismer and Will Zapernick got sent to the penalty box.

Rancier had 12 saves in net before Cole Eiserman broke through to tally his 20th goal with seven minutes left in the first. Shane Lachance redirected the puck from the right goalpost after Rancier scrambled for a save, giving Eiserman an open window in the upper left corner.

Quinn Hutson doubled BU’s lead a minute later. Ryan Greene sent the puck to center ice, and Hutson fired the puck over Rancier’s head, ending the first period with a two-goal lead.

Q. Hutson continued BU’s hot streak on a breakaway midway through the second period. He passed the puck from the left wing to his brother, Cole, who one-timed it into the net’s bottom right corner.

Vermont showed some life soon after, sending a flurry of shots on BU’s net, but all of their attempts fell at the hands of netminder Mikhail Yegorov.

Shortly following the brief UVM burst, Devin Kaplan broke up the Catamounts’ momentum as Tom Willander found Kaplan alone in the right circle, wristing the shot past Rancier.

Down by four goals, Vermont’s Simon Jellus picked off Kamil Bednarik and slid the puck towards Timofei Spitserov, who chipped it over Yegorov. The Catamounts continued their onslaught, keeping the Terriers on their heels, but couldn’t capitalize on another opportunity to score.

The second period concluded with 3-on-3 play after Sebastian Törnqvist and Jack Page were disqualified for fighting. Aiden Celebrini and Spitserov were also dished matching roughing minors.

BU opened the third period on a 48-second power-play, and Jack Hughes and Matt Copponi swung the momentum back in their favor. Hughes passed the puck to Copponi, who shook off two Vermont defenders with a quick spin before saucing the puck back to Hughes who found the back of the net.

Q. Hutson sealed the Catamounts’ fate. Eisermans’ shot deflected off Rancier’s knee pad, and Q. Hutson chipped it back into the net for his 20th goal of the season and second of the night.

The Hutson brothers combined for 13 points on the two Terrier wins this weekend. Q. Hutson tallied two goals and five assists, while C. Hutson netted a goal and two assists in each contest.

With his performance this weekend, C. Hutson leads all defensemen in the nation with 39 points. Q. Hutson has been remarkable in his own right, sitting third place in points in the NCAA.

Mikhail Yegorov had 21 saves, ending the regular season performance with 21 goals against and a .936 save percentage. He ranks third in Hockey East goaltending leaders behind Boston College’s Jacob Fowler and Maine’s Albin Boija.

“Some of the saves he makes goes somewhat unnoticed because he’s so calm in there,” Pandolfo said of Yegorov. “He makes it look easy.”

With the win, the Terriers are ranked 6th in the Pairwise standings. Their next matchup will be in the Hockey East Quarterfinals against an undetermined opponent on March 15th.